Harefuah
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Strongyloides stercoralis (SS) is an intestinal nematode which infects a large proportion of tropical and subtropical populations. The endemic areas are southeast Asia, South America and sub-Saharan Africa. Infection is acquired when the worms penetrate the skin, pass via the blood stream to the lungs, ascend the respiratory tract, are swallowed and grow into adult worms in the mucosa of the small intestine. ⋯ Diagnosis was made from stool and bronchial smears. Treatment with thiabendazole was started early and within a week there was complete cure. This is the fourth reported case of SS hyperinfection treated in Israel.
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We review the outcome of guided, percutaneous, catheter drainage of pleural collections in 102 patients over a 2-year period. In 87% diagnostic aspiration of small or loculated collections was performed. Drainage of malignant and nonmalignant effusions in high-risk patients, or after failure of drainage without imaging guidance, was performed in 13%. ⋯ If the collection was a small pneumothorax in a single patient. If the collections were large and easy to aspirate, we marked the best location for aspiration on the skin and sent the patient back to the ward for aspiration. We conclude that the use of sonography increases the proportion of successful drainage of small pleural collections and results in few complications.